A Blog for The Thinking Muslim

Early Childhood He was born as Muhammad ibn Abdullah (pbuh) in the year 570 CE in Mecca. He was a direct descendant of Ismaeel through Ibrahim. His father’s name was Abdullah and his mother’s name was Amina. His father died a few months before his birth on a business trip. After he was born, he was sent by his mother to live with a Bedouin family for a few years in the desert and be nursed, as desert life was customarily considered healthier for infants. There Muhammad (pbuh) stayed with his foster-mother, Halimah bint Abi Dhuayb, and her husband until…

What follows is a very easy step by step process on how to do Umrah prepared by Sh. Muhammad Alshareef. You can also download a brochure style one page double sided printable PDF version of the guide below by clicking here. My family used this very guide to do our very first Umrah on our own without any help from anyone. That is how easy to follow and helpful this guide was to my family and I. I am sharing it here so others may benefit as well. Be sure that you print the printable PDF guide in a double sided…

Spiritual diseases of the heart are those sins which are committed by the heart and cannot be seen. They have an impact on our outer actions, because they are often the cause of other sins. Imam Al-Ghazali once wrote: “Other sins are like the mosquitoes hatched in a swampland and the sins of the heart are like the swampland itself. Unless the swampland (i.e. sins of the heart) is not eradicated, it would not be possible to get rid of the mosquitoes (i.e. other sins).” If we do not cure these diseases, we cannot truly get rid of the cycle…

The supplication (dua) is a weapon of the believer. It is one of the best ways for a believer to connect with his Maker. Allah in the Qur’an commands the believers call out to Him: And when My servants ask you, [O Muhammad], concerning Me – indeed I am near. I respond to the invocation of the supplicant when he calls upon Me. So let them respond to Me [by obedience] and believe in Me that they may be [rightly] guided. [Qur’an 2:186] In another verse Allah tells Muhammad (pbuh) to tell his followers: Say, [O Muhammad], “I only invoke…

The word khushu’, humility, implies two meanings: One is humility and submissiveness, while the other is calmness and tranquility, which require a tenderness of the heart that is contrary to harshness. Thus, a humble heart implies its worship of Allah as well as tranquility; hence, humbling oneself in prayer implies both humility and tranquility. The word ‘humble’ cited in the verse “Those [the believers] who humble themselves in their prayers” (23:2) means to Ibn Abbas that the believers are in a state of submissiveness; according to al-Hassan and Qatadah, they are in a state of fear while praying before Allah. Also they…

Note: This post contains a few affiliate links. I just finished reading Dave Ramsey’s The Total Money Makeover personal finance book and I must say that I am inspired! It is a step by step guide on how to become debt free and build wealth. After reading the book, I don’t look at money the same way. I wish someone had given me this advice when I was 18! Unfortunately, most parents do not pass on proper understanding of money and how to manage it. For those who may not know, Ramsey is a devout Christian and a financial guru.…

I have come across a very interesting talk by Asadullah Ali, a convert to Islam. He has two philosophy degrees and a very unique take on the atheist debate. He’s been dealing with them for years on different platforms and it really shows in his articulate delivery of his arguments. In the lecture below, he addresses the following three issues often brought up by atheists: The problem of evil – If there is an Almighty and Merciful God, then why is there is so much suffering and evil in the world? The problem of representation – This is when atheists…